ALLISON, WILLIAM BOYD (1829-1908), American legislator, was
born at Perry, Ohio, on the 2nd of March 1829. Educated at
Allegheny and Western Reserve Colleges, he studied law, and
practised in Ohio until 1857. In that year he settled in
Dubuque, Iowa, where he took a prominent part in Republican
politics; and in 1860 he was a delegate to the national
convention at Chicago which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the
presidency. In 1861 he was appointed a member of the staff
of Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood (1813-1894), and was of great
service in the work of equipping and organizing the Iowa
volunteers. From 1863 until 1871 he served with distinction
in the House of Representatives; in 1873 he was elected to the
United States Senate, and re-elected in 1878, 1884, 1890, 1896 and
1902. Here he became one of the highest authorities on questions
connected with finance, and from 1877 he was a member of the
Senate committee on finance. In 1881-1893, and again from
1895, he was chairman of the committee on appropriations, in
which position he had great influence. He declined offers of
the secretaryship of the treasury made to him by Presidents
Garfield and Harrison. He was a prominent candidate for the
presidential nomination in the Republican national conventions
of 1888 and 1896. In 1892 he was chairman of the American
delegation to the International Monetary Conference at
Brussels. He died at Dubuque, Iowa, on the 4th of August 1908.
Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed